William Thompson

William Thompson (5 July 1736 Province of Ireland, Great Britain-3 September 1781 Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States) was an American soldier who was a General in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. He was killed at the Battle of Trois Rivieres.

Biography
William Thompson was born in Province of Ireland in the Kingdom of Great Britain, immigrating to Carlisle, in the Thirteen Colonies. Thompson enlisted in the British Army during the French and Indian War in 1754, and fought in the Kittanning Expedition under John Armstrong, and in 1775, after serving in the British military for decades, became a Brigadier-General in the Continental Army. Thompson fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill, and later took part in the Invasion of Canada.

Thompson set out to 'liberate' Quebec from British rule in June1776. The territories had never asked to be freed and were not part of the colonies, so Stephane Chapheau was sent by the Hashshashin to assassinate him, guaranteeing the people of Trois-Rivieres were heard. At the battle there, Chapheau, pretending to be a French Canadian militiaman, captured him for the British and handed him to the General, preventing him from taking over Quebec.

He died after years in captivity, exchanged for Baron Riedesel in 1781, and returned to Carlisle.